Aerial railway



A 1,491,671 L. J. J. B. CHENEAU AERIAL RAILWAY Filed Feb.,v 1922 5 shets-sheet 1 April 22 f 1924.

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April 2z 924- A 1,491,671

L. J. J. B. CHENEAU f AERIAL RAILWAY .I

Filed Feb. 7, m22 s sheets-sheet 2` Y NV Wraak April 22 1924. v A

L. J. J. 1 3. CHENEAU AERIAL 'RAILWAY Filed Feb. '7 1922 3 SheebS-Sheet 5 Patented pr. 22, y1924.

sTETs LOUISJOSEPH BAPTISTE CHNEAU, 0F PARIS, FRANCE. v i* l AERIAL RAILWAY. l

Appneationj'med February@ 1922. seriain. 534,726.'

This invention relates to aerial railways or cableways, uponwhicqh tractors or other moving devices are adapted to run.

VIt has for its object so tomount 'and arrange the said aerial lines that they yare more manner one of the elements of the triangle etlicient than has hitherto been the' case.

yThe invention consists essentially in vso constructing railways of the class in question 4that the line or cable has uniform tension i conditionof the track will be throughout, whatever maybe the length of4 the line and the means employed for tensioning the extremities. In other words, no means are provided betweenthe extremities for varying the tension'which interrupt the continuity vof the cable as regards the device running thereon. This result is obtained by maintaining the tensiony of the cables by disfplacing a certain number of the intermediate points of attachment of the said cable, in a direction substantially transversal to the extension of the cable. The lateral displace ments are conveniently realizedin suchl manner that their intervention serves to absorb the slack of the cable which takes place in the summer, or las a consequence of its eXtension. place either horizontally or vertically or in an oblique direction, the displacement being effected in a straight line section of the cable so that said cable becomes slightly zigzagged after the correction oic the slackening. The Zigzagged condition in Astraight sections is greaterin the summer and less zigzagged or almost straight in the winter. ,In curved parts of the track the supporting points are moved slightly outward in tightening the cable.` In Vmoderate weather the Zigzagged VKin proportion to the temperature.

The invention includes, inaddition to the principal feature just mentioned, a certain numberpof other arrangements,- which are 'Ihe lateral displacement can take preferably employed at the sameV time as the v principal feature or arrangement, but which can be employed independently thereof and which will be more fully described hereafter. In particular, a construction or arrangement may be -provided 'in which each of the sup-` ports for the cable consists ofv a postfor upright, provided either with van inclined stay or with a guy rope, and an arrangement in which the displacement of the point of attachment of the cable is obtained `by'means of a device for regulating inan appropriatel PATENT yo Erica@ v formed with the ground by the post orupderstood that the description and drawings are given merely by way of example.

Fig. 1 of thedrawing shows,partly in elevation and partly in section, a portion of an upright provided with means for enabling the cable which 'it supports to be displaced, the said means kbeing constructed according to the invention. y

Fig. 1a is a'slightlydierent form of the device as shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 2 shows in diagrammatic elevation, one of the iiprightsk in the normal position and in one of the positions in which the cable has been displaced byfoperating thel y said means.

Figs. 3 and 4 are part diagrammatic-plans of an `aerial railway provided with supports of theforegoing description and provided with means for displacing the cable. y n

Fig. 5 shows in elevation with parts broken away and parts dotted a jointed vbracket or support to be carried by certain'uprights 'of the aerial railway. l, Y 1 K y l Fig. 6 shows in plan one of the parts of y the said bracket.

Figs.. 7 and 8 show respectively in elevation and in diagrammatic plan a portion of an aerial railway provided with brackets or supports of the last mentioned, description, the line carrying a tractor towing boat.

The drawings illustrate in general the pre erred method of carrying out the inventionas applied to the suspension of the cable of' an aerial railway upon which a suspended tractor is adapted to run, and the construetion is substantially as follows a are uprights or posts, any appropriate number of which is provided, in lthe ordinary'manner to suit requirements. Each of these is provided with a bracket to support the aerial line, and each of the brackets 'carries a gripping device b adapted to clamp the portionof the cable c to be supportedby the bracket.

`Some of the uprights are so constructed n and arranged that the brackets which they carry can be pushed forward or drawn back for a certaindistancesubstantially at right providing two bearing lugs a which carryy a vertical spindle e, and which are attached to the upright. The spindle e is provided between the lugs with a screw thread upon which screws a nut f, which nut is pivotally mounted in a piece f1 attached to the .upper extremity of the inclined stay where it comes up to the post. Any suitable means are provided for rotating the screw thread'- ed spindle c" in the bearing lugs.

In this way the apex of the triangle A,B.C. shown at Fig. 2 can be displaced. lin this triangle the side AB represents the .upright and the side B@ represents the inclined stay. The displacement is effected by varying the length lof .the side AB, .it being of course assumed that the relative movements of the upright and the inclined `stay are rendered possible by the flexibility of the parts of the system and the slight displacement which can be given to the two elements in question where attached to the ground.

The same eEect may be obtained by mail@` ing the point Ba fixed .point with respect to they upright and by varying the length of the side BC, for instance .by means of a tensioning device interposed in any position in the said side. rl`his application is parquestion and arranged along a considerable straight length of railway, the regulation of the tension would be obtained by displacing the bracket uponthe uprights either to one sidey or the other of the lineV of direction,

namely from a to a, as shown at F ig. 3.

1With the foregoing construction and arrangement the unavoidablek variation in length ofthe cableV can be corrected between its extremities which are ksupposed to be suitably anchored. Hithertmthe only means of correction adopted hasV been to divide the line into sections, in eachof which the cable is under the tension of' a counterbal-v anced weight or spring. This is an yexpensive arrangement and isl also inconvenient if the line is of some considerable lengthg, the interruption of the line leading to corn" plication in relation to the passage of the tractor from one section to the other.

I prefer, in addition tothe foregoing ar*-k rangements which give every satisfaction in themselves, to provide some ory all of thefollowing constructions.

l may construct some of thel bracketsas shown at Figs. 5, 7 andS. ln this case each bracket comprises three portions g, g1 and g2, pivotally connected together by means of vertical pins h and z'.

The portion g2 of the bracket which sup` ports the gripping device b may be so constructed that the said device can oscillate about a pivot y' perpendicular to the pivotal axes h and z', the pivot being located in the y said partbeyond the pivotal axis. y

Each of the grips b may beconstructed as shown at Fig. `6, from a plurality of grippingnienibers coming into juxtaposition atl their extremities. Each of` these members may comprise claws pressed towards one an other by means of a screw lc, shown only on Fig. 5, the devices being preferably formed in two portions and so that they can engage one another in a Vmanner shown clearly at Fig.' l "v In the foregoing manner, .l obtain anaerial railway which is admirably adapted for the movements thereon -of a tractor Z suspended therefrom, as shown at Fig. '7.vk In addition to the advantages lalready enum-r erated, which are obtained by the regulation of the variations of length ofthe cable, if

the jointed brackets are fitted, there is the additional advantage that when the tractor is between two consecutive brackets, the weight of the tractor, which causes the cable to bend in the intervening space, makes the brackets bring the grips which they carry towards one another. At the same time each of the grips whilst being displaced parallel to itself tips so as appreciably to lengthen the corresponding portion of the cable which sags. The result is that the pull exerted by the tractor upon the cable between two consecutive hinged brackets has less tendency to pull down the supporting post for the brackets than if the cable were attached to fixed brackets. As the jointed brackets yield under the pull a certain amount of cable is given out from each of the brackets under consideration to the bending or sagging portion of the cable, whilst at the same time the pull of the sagging portion of the cable is transmitted to the neighbouring length and so on to the anchored portions of the line or it may be transmitted to intermediate iXed portions located at suitable distances and preferably constituted by brackets which are not hinged, such brackets being attached to reinforced supports.

As the gripping devices of the two consecutive jointed brackets incline to one another as has been explained, there is no danger of a localized bend of the cable in the neighbourhood of the said gripping devices.

ln some cases the gripping members may be thinned away towards the extremities, and with this construction and owing to the fact that they are adapted to tip, the passage of the running pulleys or wheels of the tractor is facilitated. At the moment that the wheels pass from one side to the other of the bracket, the gripping device tips over to an inclination contrary to that which it occupied previously.

As will be readily understood and as has moreover been already stated, the invention is not limited in any way to those methods of carrying it into eii'ect or to those constructional embodiments which have been described in detail.

On the contrary, it includes all modifications coming within a fair interpretation of my claims.

For instance the regulating means for controlling the positions of the brackets might comprise an elastic system interposed in any suitable position in the unit constituting the uprights or supports. For example the elastic means might be interposed between the inclined stay and the corresponding upright, and it might be adapted automatically to rectify the tension of thecable irrespective of variations in length. It sufices in Fig. 1 to replace the action of the and a spring m is inserted between one of the l bearing lugs a and the eye.

Owing to this construction an automatic zig-zagging of the cable can be obtained in a straight line section when every first of two consecutive uprights is provided with a spring tending to push the eye upwards and every second of said two consecutive uprights is provided with a. spring pressing the eye downwards. rlhe track line thus becomes slightly Zigzagged when the wire is slack and becomes automatically almost straight when the wire is very taut. In curves the springs of the uprights act all in the same direction, for example in pressing the eyes upward.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America is l. In an aerial railway, a cable iXedly anchored at its two lends and constituting a track, a plurality of uprights carrying said track, cable holding points movable on said supports, means adapted to permit displacement of the cable holding points for adjustment thereof at the will of the operator in such a manner that the track will assume in straight sections thereory a slightly zigzagged condition and in curved sections a slight general centrifugal displacement in tensioning the slackened wire, the zigzagged condition being eliminated. when a slackening of the cable is desired.

2. In an aerial railway, a track, a plurality of supports forthe track, each said support comprising an upright element furnished with means for carrying the track,

an inclined element supporting the said 11p-- right element, means for varying the length of one of the said elements, and means causing the horizontal displacement oi= the top of said uprights whereby the stress of the track is regulated.

3. An aerial railway comprising a plurality of supports for the track, some of such supports being constituted by an upright element furnished with a bracket and carrying the track, and an inclined element pivotally connected thereto, with means for, l' i varying the length of each of the said elements, substantially as described.

4. ln an aerial railway a support for the track, comprising an upright, a bracket, carried by the said upright, gripping means upon the said bracket for holding the cable, means in the neighbourhood of the-bracket for holding a rotatable screw threaded rod, an inclined strut for the said upright, such strut being provided at the top with pivotal means for carrying a nut engaging the screw threaded portion of the said rod, and mea-ns by a vertical pivot pin and an outer portion for rotating the said rod When-required, for pvoted to the intermediate portion also by 10 the purposes set forth. a vertical pivot pin With means carried yby 5. 1n an aerial railway, a support for the the outer portion for gripping the cable, for

5 track, comprising a bracket, consisting of the purposes set forth.

three portions, an inner portion rigidly conn testimony whereof I have hereunto set neoted to an upright, an intermediate pormy hand. tion pivoted to the rst mentioned portion LOUIS JQSEPH JEAN BAPTISTE CHNEAU. 

